Congress had until the end of Friday to pass a bill or spark a government shutdown -- something GOP leadership has been adamant they would not let happen while they control the levers of power in Washington.

Lawmakers now face another deadline on Dec. 22, setting up a funding showdown just three days before Christmas.

Top GOP senators urged their colleagues to support the legislation despite grumbling among some in the caucus about the impact a continuing resolution (CR) has on military spending.

"I have implored Congress and the White House to negotiate a bipartisan budget agreement, because without one, the military will be funded under a Continuing Resolution at the Budget Control Act levels," he said.

Senate Republicans can't pass a government funding bill on their own, and needed consent from Democrats to speed up debate of the legislation to meet Friday's deadline.

Democratic leadership remained tight-lipped throughout the week about if they would support a continuing resolution as they looked for leverage in negotiations on a final, year-end spending package.

Pelosi emphasized that Democrats don't want to see a government shutdown, but couldn't support Thursday's bill because it doesn't include their priorities like protections for young undocumented immigrants, funding for the opioid crisis and relief for communities affected by recent natural disasters.

"This is a waste of time," Pelosi said at a press conference in the Capitol. Here's more from The Hill's Cristina Marcos: http://bit.ly/2k87T6u.

White House official sees 'tentative' deal on defense spending: President Trump and congressional leaders reached a "tentative agreement" on Thursday to raise defense spending levels as part of a year-end government funding package, according to a White House official.

The leaders were "moving toward an agreement" on nondefense spending after a meeting in the Oval Office designed to resolve the contentious funding battle, the official said.

The official requested anonymity to discuss private conversations between Trump and the top four congressional leaders.

Democrats don't have nearly as optimistic view of the outcome of Thursday's meeting, however.

Democratic leaders insist there cannot be a deal on the defense spending number without an agreement in tandem on spending for non-defense programs, a position they have long held.

Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) had a less rosy assessment of how much progress had been made.

Asked if negotiators were any closer to a deal on the spending caps, McConnell replied, "I wouldn't say that."

The announcement follows the Senate approving a motion for the legislation to go to conference earlier in the day.

"Now that the Senate has voted to join our House colleagues in a conference committee, I'm confident that this distinguished group of senators will work to get the job done for the American people," McConnell said in a statement.

Poll: Most Americans believe GOP tax plan will help corporations, wealthy, investors: A majority of Americans polled believes the Republican-backed tax plan will benefit corporations and wealthy Americans, according to a new CBS News poll.

Seventy-six percent of Americans polled said they believed the plan would help corporations, while 69 percent said it would benefit the wealthy.

The poll also found 53 percent of those polled said they disapproved of the plan, while 35 percent said they approved of it. Forty-one percent of Americans also said they expected their taxes to go up under the plan.

The poll comes less than a week after Senate Republicans fulfilled a major campaign promise in passing legislation to overhaul the U.S. tax code. It would reduce the corporate income tax from 35 percent to 20 percent and would lower tax rates for individuals through 2025. http://bit.ly/2k8pH1j.

Deputy consumer bureau chief challenges court ruling for control of agency: The deputy director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) asked a federal court Wednesday night to halt a previous ruling that cleared President Trump to appoint a temporary chief in her place.

The move by CFPB Deputy Director Leandra English is the latest maneuver in the fight for control of the agency.

"I'm going to keep tweeting about this, and speaking out every chance I get, until it is fixed," the former Democratic presidential nominee tweeted on Thursday.

The authorization for CHIP, which covers 9 million children, expired on Sept. 30, but no states have yet run out of money. Several states are in danger of running out soon, though, some by the end of the year.

While funding for the program has been bogged down in partisan fighting over how to pay for it, CHIP money is expected to be added to a year-end spending package later this month.

"The three things that we've been told are not gonna happen as part of our agreement: no CSRs, no DACA, no debt limit," Walker said, referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Walker, chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC), said the promise was made during a meeting RSC members had with House leaders on Tuesday afternoon.

The cost-sharing subsidies have been a flashpoint during negotiations over both the GOP tax bill and the bill to continue funding the government beyond Dec. 22.

The House and Senate are in the process of working out the differences between the tax bills passed by their respective chambers. A final version could pass as soon as next week. http://bit.ly/2AD8sNr

Judge sets March trial date for AT&T merger fight: A federal judge set March 19 as the trial date for the Justice Department's lawsuit to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger.

AT&T had asked that the trial begin in February, while prosecutors with the Justice Department's antitrust division requested May.

"This is not a normal case -- from many perspectives," Judge Richard Leon told the two legal teams Thursday.

AT&T had been pushing for an expedited trial to beat the merger's April 22 deadline. If the deal doesn't close by then, AT&T will have to pay $500 million to Time Warner.

Leon urged the companies to consider pushing back the deadline.

"Getting an opinion on April 22 is not going to happen," he said.

AT&T said it was looking forward to making its case for the merger.

"We thank the Court for its deliberate and expeditious approach to this matter," David McAtee, AT&T's general counsel, said in a statement. "We understand and appreciate how busy the Court is, and we will promptly discuss the Court's post-trial schedule with Time Warner."

The proposed merger would join AT&T, a telecom giant, with Time Warner's entertainment businesses, including HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner Media. http://bit.ly/2nIZFai

Analysis: Apple poised for $47 billion windfall from GOP tax bill: Apple is likely to win big under the tax plan that Republicans are pushing through Congress, according to the Financial Times.

The Cupertino, Calif., firm could make as much as $47 billion in additional profits from the tax legislation, according to the paper's estimates.

The Senate version of the tax proposal, which would allow Apple to bring home profits it has stashed overseas at a maximum 14.5 percent tax rate, would be a huge discount over the proposed 25 percent corporate tax rate, and an even bigger deal than the current 35 percent rate.

Apple isn't the only company that stands to significantly benefit from the legislation. It does, however, stand to gain the most, as it has almost double the amount of profits overseas as the next closest firm, Microsoft. The Seattle-based software firm keeps $132 billion overseas, compared with Apple's $252 billion. http://bit.ly/2kx60Et

US locks in duties on Canada's softwood lumber industry: A U.S. trade panel on Thursday unanimously ruled to uphold hefty duties on Canada's softwood lumber industry saying the U.S. has been harmed by unfair practices.

The U.S. International Trade Commission's (ITC) made a final determination, in a 4-0 vote, that Canada subsidizes and dumps lumber exports into the United States, a move that is likely to increase already tense negotiations to update the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The U.S. Lumber Coalition, which filed a petition last year with the Commerce Department to open a case against Canada's softwood lumber industry, praised the decision.

"The evidence presented to the ITC was clear -- the massive subsidies that the Canadian government provides to its lumber industry and the dumping of lumber products into the U.S. market by Canadian companies cause real harm to U.S. producers and workers," said Jason Brochu, U.S. Lumber's co-chairman in a statement.

"Now, with a level playing field, the U.S. lumber industry, and the 350,000 hardworking men and women who support it, can have the chance to compete fairly," Brochu said: http://bit.ly/2k7pI5U.